Fast production of ultracold sodium gases using light-induced desorption and optical trapping

In this article we report on the production of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of 23Na using light-induced desorption as an atomic source. We load about 2x107 atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) from this source with a ∼6 s loading time constant. The MOT lifetime can be kept around 27 s by turning off the desorbing light after loading. We show that the pressure drops down by a factor of 40 in less than 100 ms after the extinction of the desorbing light, restoring the low background pressure for evaporation. Using this technique, a BEC with 104 atoms is produced after a 6 s evaporation in an optical dipole trap.